Worried about Jet :(

K

Katagaria

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I feel like Jet's shyness is going straight into nervousness/fear. He used to just be disinterested in anything else besides me/my bf, now he seems worried about every living thing that moves most of the time.

Sometimes I have to stop walking and let the person behind me go ahead of me, because he keeps slowing down or pacing up and looking behind at the person repeatedly. He doesn't exhibit any of the curiosity in people or other dogs like Cosmo does.

Is there any way I can get Jet's mind off worrying about other people/dogs coming near? I've tried getting him to focus on me but he seems to go into this zone where he ignores me and focuses his attentions on whoever is coming his way.
 
Is Jet food motivated?

I keep treats in my pocket when I walk my 3 so I can reward good behavior and make the neighbor's "scary boys" less scary (the boys scared them when they were puppies - I blame dad for not correcting his 2 young children). I had to correct the boys but the negative impression had already been made.

I put them into a sit when I see the boys and I treat and tell them what good shelties they are so they have a positive experience around the boys.

They still feel that the boys must be closely watched but they no longer bark and lunge. If Jet is food motivated then providing a positive association may be helpful.

I'm sure others will be able to offer other great suggestions.

Kimberly
 
He is quite food motivated, but I worry that I'm just rewarding his fearful behaviour if I give him treats when he's in that "mode" - but it's certainly better than trying nothing.
 
No, though my bf's brother was always harsh on Cosmo when he was a pup and did something wrong (usually chewing/stealing something), he's never scolded Jet in the same way because he's always been the "good" dog. Cosmo doesn't trust my bf's brother much at all, but Jet loves him.

We did get Jet later than Cosmo, Jet was about 6 months when we got him. Could the way he was raised for those 6 months or so have shaped him into becoming this way?
 
My girl worries if there are people walking up behind her, sometimes. She was never abused or anything less than spoiled and well-socialized. She is just a worrier. I have taught her behaviors where she can make the choice to be brave, and I reward for those choices.

For example, sometimes she is scared of things in people's yards--like trash bags or snowmen, etc. I have taught her to "touch" and I ask her to be brave and go touch the scary thing (no pulling or anything, I let her choose). At first I would reward a few steps forward, and now she knows that I wouldn't ask her to touch something if it wasn't safe. So she will actually go put her nose on it.

I also bring treats and let her do fun behaviors that she enjoys. For example, she loves to tug so I get her excited and we tug on her leash. She also knows the word "ready" and we rile her up with that and I will throw a treat forwards and we will run forward to get it. Positive things that inspire confidence help a lot.
 
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This is such a common problem when people have litter mates - one dog develops anxiety issues and is overwhelmed by the rambunctious personality of the other dog. It's known as littermate syndrome. Adolescence is a difficult enough time for a dog without the constant challenge of another dog close in age. Here's a link to an article about it, and they mention some interesting research done by Guide Dog organisation which found:
Placing two puppies in the same household always caused one puppy to become temperamentally unsuitable for work, even when both puppies started off as perfect candidates.

When two puppies are placed together, they learn to rely on each other. One of the puppies always becomes shy, even when both puppies started off as bold and outgoing. This is a huge problem, since it means that the shy puppy never reaches his or her potential. In fact, this was such a major issue that the guide dog experiment was quickly halted, and to this day guide dog organizations only place one puppy at a time in puppy raisers’ homes, even when the homes are highly experienced. http://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/littermate-syndrome/
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As you already have the two dogs it is really critically to keep the dogs apart a lot so Jet can develop his personality on his own. Separate walks, separate playtime, separate sleeping areas and feed them separately. I'd encourage you to take him to classes so he can have a 'job' that is his own. Keeping them separate in play/training times will also give you the chance to work on the anxious behaviour. It will be next to impossible to do this with Cosmo around.

I know people with littermates or dogs very close in age who have put the insecure pup on anxiety meds. So that is certainly an option.
 
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That is really interesting, I had heard a bit about that before but wasn't entirely sure if it applied to me, because Cosmo is so independent and happy enough doing his own thing. But I can definitely see how it can apply to Jet on his own.

I think with that info I'll be taking Jet out on his own today which I will try and turn into a frequent thing, and I'll bring some treats along. I actually feel really good now after seeing that, because I feel like I have something to try/work with. It's when you don't know what to do, or don't understand what a possible cause is it can really make things difficult.

Also I got lucky enough to find a trainer who is close enough to where I live, so I am contacting her again sometime this week. I had spoken to her about Jet before and she said that he isn't really in the position to do classes just yet, but if I start working with him to know what is expected of him we can hopefully go down the classes route after.
 
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